Monday, November 22, 2004

Ivan Moravec performs

Piano concerts are a challenge. Typically, the performer concentrates on his/her hands on the ivories. If it's in a darkened hall, this means the pianist's face is normally in shadow. Add to this the need to blimp the camera, there's no way to get the keys in the same frame as the performer’s eyes, they typically wear black on a dark background with a black piano... The problems mount.

The high point of an entire concert (from a PJ's point of view) is when the pianist suddenly looks up and possibly raises one hand high enough to see. It's the visual equivalent of a blocked punt.